White Pumpkin Kootu / Vellai Poosanikai Kootu - Simple, No Grinding Method

In any Tamilian Meal, kootu will be served along with other vegetable curries. There are many varieties of Kootu served with different vegetables like white pumpkin, Sorakai ( Bottle Gourd ), Avaraikai ( Flat Beans ), Beans,  Red Pumpkin, Chow Chow ( Chayote ), etc., I always love to include a Kootu in my complete meal, especially with water based vegetables as it tastes very well.

This version of White Pumpkin Kootu is my mom's version with no grinding required. As she was a busy mom, she preferred to make healthy items with small short cuts at times. This kootu is just a one pot item which can be cooked in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles and served after tempering right away.  With less time, you can comfortably add a healthy accompaniment to your meal.

Ingredients

Into the Pressure cooker :

White Pumpkin pieces - 3 cups

Moong Dal / Payatham Paruppu - 3/4 cup

Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp

Tomato chopped - 1/2 cup

Green Chillies - 2

Water - Little. ( Enough for the dal to get cooked ).

Tempering / Tadka :

Hing / Asafoetida - 1 Dash

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Dry Red Chillies - 1

Curry Leaves - 1/2 stem

Oil / Ghee - 2 tsp

Salt - As Required

Fresh Coconut flakes - 1.5 tbsp.

Method

• Cut the white pumpkin into bigger chunks and keep ready. Chop the tomato, green chillies and keep ready. Add all the ingredients mentioned under "Into the Cooker" in a pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles.
• After the pressure is released completely, open the cooker and add required amount of salt and coconut flakes into the cooked kootu.
• Let it cook for a minute. Then prepare the tadka in a separate tempering pan. Pour the tempering over the cooked kootu in the pressure cooker.
• Serve with hot rice and as a nice accompaniment in your meal.

Tips / Suggestions

• If you have a small pressure cooker, you can add the ingredients directly into the cooker and cook.
• If you have a medium / big cooker, then you can cook them in a separate vessel inside, even along with rice.
• If you don't have a pressure cooker, no need to worry. You can cook them over the stove in a thick bottomed pan and follow the same steps.
• Don't add too much water while cooking. Otherwise you wont get the right kootu consistency.
• Add only fresh coconut flakes to the kootu. If the coconut is smelly or little bit old, then it spoils the kootu totally after making, wont stay for a longer time.